Phan Rang Heaven for tourists

I have visited Phan Rang several times but each trip gave me a new experience and brought me to new cool places of this coastal central city of Ninh Thuan Province.

People who love to swim in the sea, to bathe in a stream, to trek to a mountain, to explore a forest can find all these things in this ideal destination from Vietnam travel news. Apart from popular destinations in Ninh Thuan such as Vinh Hy Bay, Ca Na and Binh Tien beaches, Poklong Garai Tower, Bau Truc Pottery Village and My Nghiep Brocade Village, tourists are advised to visit Nam Cuong sand dunes, Hanging Lake on Nui Chua National Park, Mui Dinh Lighthouse, Chapor Waterfall, fossilized coral reef and Rai Cave. The memory of passing through a sand dune on the way to Dinh Cape in Ninh Thuan will be unforgettable. To get to Phan Rang, which is about 330km away from HCMC, tourists can either take a train or bus/car. The best option is a two-way journey in an air-conditioned train to Thap Cham Railway Station in Phan Rang which costs VND900,000. A tourist poses in front of a pre-historic fossil reef. The first destination should be the red Nam Cuong sand dunes in Tuan Tu Culture Village in Ninh Phuoc District’s An Hai Commune. The 700 hectare Nam Cuong sand dunes amazingly shine in different color tones depending on the sunlight. The perfect time to admire the sand dunes is at sunrise when the first rays of the sun from the horizon reflect its light onto the place and gradually spread its light. Tourists can then visit Nui Chua National Park in Ninh Hai District which is 7km from Phan Rang-Thap Cham City at around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. to avoid the heat and humidity. The park has a unique semi-arid flora and fauna, sea turtle nesting beaches, protected prehistoric coral reef which faces the sea. Some might think that its surface looks like Mars as there are a lot of holes in different shapes and depth. Especially, tourists cannot imagine that there’s a Hanging Lake on the peak of the park which is full of water from streams and underground springs in the area all-year round. The diameter of the lake is 80 meters. Its water is blue, and, especially in rainy months, the lake amidst the immense forest creates a beautifully proportioned picture. Hanging Lake on the peak of Chua Mountain is a beautiful destination. The next day you can discover Chapor waterfall which is located in Ma Lam Hamlet in Phuoc Tan Commune of Bac Ai District and is 60km from Phan Rang City. This is a natural waterfall and stream and falls down from a height of 50m to the ponds below. Tourists can freely relax on the pure and cool water of the stream below the waterfall or find a flat rock under a shade to enjoy a meal or take a snap in a very quite and peaceful space. Mui Dinh (Dinh Cape) in Son Hai Village in Phuoc Dinh Commune which is 40km south of Phan Rang City and 10 km from the popular Ca Na beach is the perfect ending to your trip. However, this is not an ideal place for those who are not physically strong as you have to pass a sand dune in strong winds. The wind power can extinguish even a brave tourist’s will. If you can pass it, you are treated to a fantastic landscape of primitive, beautiful, white sand beach with rock cliffs at the foot of Dinh Mountain and a romantic lighthouse on the peak. Tourists can buy friends and relatives some Ninh Thuan souvenirs like fish sauce, garlic and products made from grape. As for local specialties, banh can (a cake made from rice flour served with seafood) and banh canh (rice noodles with fish paste) are a must.

Ba Chua Xu Festival - An Giang

As usual in April of the lunar calendar, locals in Chau Doc District, An Giang Province in southern Vietnam and others in provinces nationwide go on a pilgrimage to Sam Mountain to worship Ba Chua Xu (Lady of the Region).

According to legend, nearly 200 years ago Sam Mountain was desolate, bushy and thinly populated. It was the home of many wild beasts. At that time, the invaders often pestered the life of locals here. One day, a squad of invaders climbed up Sam Mountain and found a beautiful stone lady statue. They wanted to take the statue but could not move it. In anger, they disfigured the statue, breaking off the left hand.

Shortly after, a little girl who had been playing joyfully in the village started shaking uncontrollably and began very flush. She called herself as Chua Xu Thanh Mau (Lady of the Region) and said that the statue of the Lady on Sam Mountain was destroyed by the invaders so the villagers should take the sculpture down from the mountain. When the villagers climbed up the mountain they were very surprised when seeing the statue.

They selected nine girls to carry the statue. When arriving at the foot of Sam Mountain, the statue became so heavy that the girls were forced to place it on the ground. The village elders understood this as a signal from the statue that this was the place that it wanted to remain so a ceremony was held and a shrine was built on the spot to dedicate to her. That day was the 25th day of lunar April. Since then, the locals usually hold the Lady worshipping ceremony. At present, on Sam Mountain still remains a vestige of a stone platform where the statue was located.

The Lady Shrine was initially built from bamboo and it was rebuilt in 1870. In 1972, the Shrine was again rebuilt but much larger than before. The architecture of the Shrine has the shape of Chinese script “nation” with a lotus-shaped tower and three-layer roof that is curved like the bow of the boat. The Shrine is roofed with blue tiles. The patterns and designs on the sanctum feature Indian art. Above are strong and beautiful genie statues using their hands to prop up the beams that were carved and engraved finely and sophisticatedly. The Shrine also boasts many red-lacquered panels and couplets. Particularly, the wall behind the statue and four ancient columns have been kept intact.

The statue bears the Oc Eo Culture with the fine arts motifs of the Ba La Mon (Brhmanes) religion originating from India, similar to the four-hand statue in Linh Son Pagoda in Oc Eo Township , Thoai Son District, An Giang Province.

At present, all rites of the festival are held solemnly. At midnight on the 23rd day and in the early morning of the 24th day of lunar April, the statue-bathing rite is carried out for nearly one hour by four or five prestigious middle-aged women in the village. They bathe the statue in water fragranced with jasmine, spray it with perfume and then adorn the statue with a new bonnet and gown. Although the ceremony is held behind a silk curtain, it attracts the participation of thousands people who stand outside the sanctum.

On the night of the 25th day of lunar April and in the early morning of the 26th day, Tuc Yet and Xay Chau, the major rites of the festival, are carried out.  At midnight, the Tuc Yet rite is performed by the main priest and four nobles. The offerings include a white pig, a plate of pig’s blood, a tray of steamed sticky rice, a tray of five-fruits, etc. To the ceremonial music and drum and gong beats, the main priest and four nobles offer the Lady incense, wine and tea and read sermons.

After the Tuc Yen rite is the Xay Chau rite. The main priest drips a branch of poplar in a water bowl and splashes the water while reading “first, praying to heaven for good things; second, praying to the land for a bumper crop; third, praying for mankind's longevity; fourth, praying for annihilating demons”. When he finishes the rite, he beats three salvos of drumbeats to begin the Hat boi (classical opera) performance on the stage before the central sanctum. At 4am on the 27th day of lunar April, the Chanh Te rite is held, but is less spectacular.

Ba Chua Xu Worshipping Festival has become a great cultural event in Southern Vietnam that annually attracts about 2 million tourists nationwide who hope to ask for blessings and witness a typical cultural feature in An Giang Province.

Cuc Phuong national park - Ninh Binh

Cuc Phuong National Park was first established in Vietnam. Based on the unique value of geological history, landscape and scientific significance of the flora and fauna in Cuc Phuong, the Prime Minister has signed the Decision No 72/TTg on 07/07/1962 on building protection and Cuc Phuong forest management became the basis of scientific research on plants and tropical silviculture.

Cuc Phuong - top Vietnam tourism destination - is 100 km southwest of Hanoi. It lies at the border of 3 provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa, and is 60 km from the sea. The forest is 25000 ha in area, of which one-third is limestone mountains from 300 to 600 metres high against the sea level.

The virgin forest was discovered in 1960 and has been recognised as a national park. It has Dan Dan grotto, Ancient Men cave, hot springs with a temperature of 38 Celsius degrees, barashrea -htellata, dracontomelum... of nearly 1000 years old and from 50 to 70 metres high.

Cuc Phuong has up to 2000 species of plants. Orchid alone has 50 species, some giving flowers and sweet smell all year round. Cuc Phuong has 262 species of vertebrates and many precious birds and animals such as: bear, horse, wild pig, tiger, panther, weasel, squirrel, monkey, ect. There are semi nature reserves with deer, samba deer, yellow monkey, underpants parrot, flying squirrel, flying lizard, etc... . Cuc Phuong is also home to hundreds of rare birds.

Culture
In earlier times, Cuc Phuong was home to the Muong minority people (or tribe) and to this day a few scattered villages around the park's periphery still house these interesting people and their unique culture. If you visit these communities you can still see their traditional stilt houses, waterwheels, bamboo rafts and brocade looms.

Limestone karsts landscape 
Located on 2 limestone mountain ranges, the landscape of Cuc Phuong is a wonderfully rich ecosystem. The rocky outcrops of Cuc Phuong contain very valuable archeological vestiges such as a fossilized sea reptile, dated at 200 - 230 million years old and evidence of prehistoric people, who lived in the forest some 7500 years ago.

Around Cuc Phuong
From Cuc Phuong we would suggest that you take a trip to Van Long, where you can see Delacour's Langurs in the wild, to Tam Coc or to Pu Luong Nature Reserve - all within easy access. Just ask us and we will set you on the right path.

Vietnam always in Mexican’s hearts

After the 12th International Conference on Pre-school Education in Monterey, Mexico, Ms. Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez Martinez, member of the Mexican Labour Party’s Politburo and General Director of the Centres of Childhood Development (CENDI) stressed that the image of Vietnam was always in Mexican people’s hearts.

According to Ms. Martinez, Mexico and Vietnam have together shared difficult times in the past. At present, Mexican people are pleased to witness the great economic achievements of Vietnamese people with a high growth rate and modernization. Mexican people admire the Vietnamese hard-working spirit and especially value the solidarity of Vietnam with other nations in the world.

“I myself want to reaffirm that Mexico has always been a brother of Vietnamese people,” Ms. Martinez stressed.

Mentioning to the participation of Vietnam at the symposium on pre-school education, General Manager of CENDI praised the presence of the Vietnamese delegation at 10 symposiums held in Monterrey City, leading events in pre-school education in the whole country, Latin America and the world.

Ms. Martinez recognized Vietnam’s contributions to pre-school education and praised the attention and policies of the Party, State and government of Vietnam relating to future generations.

Over the past 46 years, Dr. Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez Martinez has received more than 20 domestic and international decorations and medals for the educational quality in general and pre-school education in particular. In 2004, Vietnam awarded the “For Educational Science Cause” campaign medal to Ms. Martinez.

Vietnam Food

Street Food: Here’s the stall where i had my first real pork roll in Vietnam. So great to have your favourite food in its native country. There was plenty of action around the stall.
Photo by micz

Street food vendor Saigon
Photo by jaschajabes

Street food, Hanoi
Photo by barbararich

Street food at Hanoi: Food stalls in the small alley ways of the Old Town of Hanoi
Photo by kirksiang

Shellfish in Vietnam
Photo by shellfish

Fried spring rolls in Vietnam
Photo by shellfish

Banh Cuon
Photo by stylelab

Banh Cuon
Photo by macha

Vietnamese pancake
Photo by Mc559

A lunch of elephant fish: This showy fish is served in a rice paper wrapper with fresh greens and vermicelli noodles and dipped in nuoc mam. The plate on the left contains green sticky rice & mung bean in a banana leaf wrapper, friend spring rolls and sweet potato. Coca Cola in Vietnam tastes so much better to my palate. First, it’s less carbonated. Second, it is sweetened with palm sugar, not corn syrup. Third, it has a faint 5-spice flavor.
Photo by ultrapop

Elephant Fish
Photo by globetrotteri

Typical Vietnamese Coffee
Photo by mengteck

Vietnamese Coffee With Sweetened Condensed Milk
Photo by kleinmatt66

Roast Dog and Caged Cat – Cat Ba, Vietnam

Buon Ma Thuot

The Central Highlands of Vietnam may be off the beaten track compared to some of Vietnam's more popular tourist destinations, but that doesn't mean the Highlands don't have something to offer. Dak Lak Province (also spelled Dac Lac) is one of these lesser known areas of Vietnam that nevertheless is well-worth a visit.

In southern Vietnam's Central Highlands, not too far from the Cambodian border, is the city of Buon Ma Thuot. Unlike Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang, all of which have seen a significant bump in western tourism over the past decade or two, Buon Ma Thuot remains well off the beaten track. In other words, in Buon Ma Thuot, you'll get to witness a glimpse of the “real” Vietnam.

Buon Ma Thuot (also spelled Buon Ma Thuat or Ban Me Thuot) is the capital of Dak Lak Province. A bustling small city of about 300,000 people, it is the largest city in the Central Highlands region, and provides a great launch pad for adventures into attractions of the Central Highlands.

Fifty kilometres from Buon Ma Thuot, you can find the Don commune, which is the home to some of the very best elephant trainers in all of Southeast Asia. With a long history due to their prominence as elephant traders, the Don commune includes Cham towers and tombs that date back to the 13th century. Long since covered with moss, the tombs were once the burial grounds of wealthy tribal chiefs

Dak Lak Province and its Elephants

Buon Ma Thuot is the capital city of the province of Dak Lak, a province of lakes and waterfalls, rich forests, and ethnic minorities. During French rule, Dak Lak was a region of plantations, and coffee is still the main export from Dak Lak today, but when the Vietnamese rebelled against their colonisers during the First Indochina War, the region's minority tribes led quite a few of the rebellions themselves. The tribes had the same response to the American forces who came in during the Vietnam War; fighting was heavy in the 1960s and 70s during the war, and the first North Vietnamese tank to enter Buon Ma Thuot remains in the centre of the city as a reminder of this era.

The most famous residents of Dak Lak Province, however, are its elephants. The people of the Central Highlands have been known as phenomenal elephant riders and trainers for centuries now, and most tourists who visit Dak Lak can't pass up the opportunity to go for a ride on the back of one of these elephants.

In 2009, the province began work on a 200 hectare elephant sanctuary to protect both wild and domestic elephants. Located in Yok Don National Park, the elephant sanctuary is designed to protect one of the region's most precious natural resources. Dak Lak only has less than 115 wild elephants remaining, and even the domesticated elephant population is starting to rapidly shrink due to improper care and breeding techniques.

Yok Don National Park

Yok Don is one of the largest national parks in Vietnam - however it must be said it is not one of the most exciting to visit. A large part of the area reserved as parkland - and the area you are most likely to see on a short visit - has been replanted recently, and so there is none of the impressive old-growth forest with old trunks and creepers intertwining, more a fairly regular plantation of trees.

While it is commendable that the government is making an effort to replant forest that has been lost, it is unlikely the casual visitor will get as much out of a trip to Yok Don as they might from Cuc Phuong or Cat Tien parks where on arrival the visitor is already in fairly deep jungle, and the wilderness lies not to far from where you sleep. That being said, the area outside the park, around Yok Don and Buon Ma Thuot - and in particular the waterfalls - is stunningingly beautiful and definitely worth exploring.

Dray Sap Falls

Not far from Buon Ma Thuot are the Dray Sap falls, beautiful, broad waterfalls set in a horseshoe shape. Beyond the first set of falls are two more, all equally impressive. Although the falls aren't particularly high, they are very long. Swimming in the pools beneath the falls is not advisable, although some people enjoy trying anyway.

The area around the waterfalls include old growth forests, including banyan trees and willows, crisscrossed by vines and other plant foliage. A variety of birds and other wildlife can be spotted amongst these older trees. At the entrance of the falls is a kiosk area, which sells cold beverages and plenty of postcards.

Although it's not as famous, the close by Gia Long waterfall is also worth seeing while you're visiting the Dray Sap falls. During the dry season, Gia Long disappears to a mere trickle, but even then the steep rock formations around the falls are worth climbing and exploring for adventurous types.

Lak Lake

A little more than fifty kilometres from Buon Ma Thuot is Lak Lake. Home to one of the palaces of the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, the valley and the 500 hectare lake is used as a resort getaway for wealthy Vietnamese. Today you can visit the palace of the emperor, and enjoy a panoramic view of the valley from his second floor balcony.

Tourists often enjoy traversing the lake in a dug-out canoe, travelling to different spots to see the lake's beautiful lotuses. Even though the lake is a very popular tourist destination, it's still wild, providing the local population with an abundance of fresh fish each year.

The Central Highlands region of Vietnam is filled with ethnic minorities and hill tribes that have inhabited the area for many centuries, and the area around Lak Lake is no different. On the south shores of the lake lies Jun Village, a traditional village of the M'nong people. With wood and rattan houses propped on stilts, and farm animals wandering through the street, Jun Village provides an educational glimpse into the daily lives of some of these rural hill people. For the adventurous visitor, you can rent a mattress for the night in one of the stilt longhouses for a mere £3.50.

Buon Ma Thuot and the surrounding area provide an intimate look at Vietnam that the tourists who stick to the big cities never get to see. If you're planning on exploring the Central Highlands, Buon Ma Thuot provides an excellent base of operations. From there, it's easy to trek out into various parts of Dak Lak Province, including Dray Sap falls, Lak Lake, and other popular spots.

Getting to and from Buon Ma Thuot

Buon Ma Thuot is a short but visually stunning 3hr drive from Nha Trang. The road from Dalat is also incredibly beautiful, though the road is extremely windy so it is not great for those who suffer from car sickness (read: most of your fellow passengers). From Buon Ma Thuot you may wish to continue on to Kon Tum or head back down to the coast at Nha Trang or Quy Nhon.

For exploring the region you are likely to need your own transport. Motorbikes can be hired in the town and there are numerous travel agents that can book tours, however you may wish to arrange these before you arrive.

National Tourism Year 2013 to be held in Haiphong City

The national tourism year 2013 will be held in Haiphong City aiming to introduce destinations, draw both local and international visitors in Vietnam tourism and foster tourism linkage among localities across the country. The opening ceremony will be held on May 11, 2013 to mark the 58th liberation anniversary of Haiphong.

The national tourism year 2013 will be held in Haiphong City aiming to introduce destinations, draw both local and international visitors in Vietnam tourism, and foster tourism linkage among localities across the country.

This was affirmed by the General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Van Tuan, and the Vice Chairman of the Haiphong City People’s Committee, Le Khac Nam, at a press briefing to introduce to event in Ho Chi Minh City on September 13.

Themed “The Red River civilization”, the tourism year will provide a good chance for Vietnam to strengthen international integration and attract investment for tourism development as well as promoting local advantages to raise public awareness of the role and position of the tourism sector in socio-economic development.

The event will help international friends know more about local cultural identities.

A wide range of cultural, art, sport, tourism and trade events will take place during the whole year in Hanoi, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and Bac Giang provinces.

The opening ceremony will be held on May 11, 2013 to mark the 58th liberation anniversary of Haiphong. City centre and Do Son and Cat Ba towns will be the main venues for activities.

Handed-down Ap Xanh Wine

Even people who has made the Ap xanh wine for a long time and are quite famous in Phuoc Hoi commune, Long Dat district, also don’t clearly know the root of this hot jade shaking drink.

No one knows when Ap xanh Ba Dap (Áp xanh Bà Đập) wine was named. Some people said that this kind of wine had been made based on the fruit wine of French since years of being dominated. However, some others told that the wine appeared because the forefathers learnt the healthy remedy from Chinese then mixed this with wine for more suitable taste. Even people who has made the Ap xanh wine for a long time and are quite famous in Phuoc Hoi commune, Long Dat district, also don’t clearly know the root of this hot jade shaking drink.  

Mr. Nguyen Van Bong (Hoi My hamlet) states that the small hamlet of Phuoc Hoi commune specifically has up to 90% of families living on wine making career, with about 50 workshops. Similar to many other people of Phuoc Hoi wine making hamlet, Mr. Bong is just a “junior”, inheriting from forefathers. Although has a dozen of years experience in making Ap xanh wine, he only know that there are seven type of herbs are guessed by smell to be dai hau (đại hầu), galangal, licorice but the remaining types can’t be found because they belong to private secret of remedy handler that none of wine makers is able to figure out.    

According to the owners of wine workshops in Phuoc Hoi, there are only two people specializing in loading remedy for Ap xanh wine producing now, one of them is Mr. Duong Tan Phat in Phuoc Loi  hamlet. It’s said that his father previously was an expert in loading remedy for treatment to save people. Mr.Phat owns the specious remedy to make Ap xanh wine thanks to his grandfather who learnt it from a healer from central region and before his death, he passed on it to his family descendants …

Po Rome Tower – The Last Tower Made from Brick of the Cham

The whole construction includes two towers: the main tower worshipping Po Rome King – one of the kings that are sacrificed by Cham people and the second one worshipping the Queen.

Po Rome Tower belongs to Hau Sanh village, Phuoc Huu commune, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province, being considered the imperfect copy of Poklongarai Tower.

The whole construction includes two towers: the main tower worshipping Po Rome King – one of the kings that are sacrificed by Cham people and the second one worshipping the Queen. Nowadays, the Cham people usually implement rituals for the tower in their festivals and ceremonies.

The tower is about 8m high, the bottom is nearly 8m wide, and the statue of Po Rome King inside is estimated 1.2m. Besides the king statue, there is a half-body statue of a woman which the Cham call statue of Po Bia Sancan Queen, is about 0.75m high. The statue of Sucih Queen stands outside the tower.

The main side of the tower faces the East. The tower has three floors built based on the ancient pattern. On each floor, there are four corner towers; the shape of fire appears on four corners. The top of each corner tower is decorated by a rocky lotus bud. In each fake cavity, there is the image of a god sitting and clasping hands in praying posture. In the corner of the tower’s entrance, there is the statue of God of cow Nadin carved from a black stone. The construction built behind the tower is the place worshipping the queen. The tomb of Po Rome King is very close to this sub-construction, being the burial place chosen by Po Rome King himself.    

About the architectural type, Po Rome is the last tower of the Cham which is made from brick and also the last big tower of Champa kingdom. Despite of being big tower architecture, Po Rome Tower’s size and shape are much coarser and poorer than the older remaining towers’.  However, although the tower is not as elegant and sophisticated as the older ones, it is great and majestic brick architecture of the Cham which is strongly valuable in architecture art. Currently, Po Rome Tower has only the main tower, the sub-tower has collapsed.

Vietnamese Teachers day of overseas students

Wearing colorful ao dai, the Vietnamese traditional costume, many young people walked around big streets in the city and showed their love to their country through slogans like “We love Vietnam” and “We love ao dai.”

According to Melbourne Overseas Vietnamese Student Association, the event’s organizers, the parade was held with the hope of introducing the image of Vietnam to international friends as well as creating chances for overseas students to meet and relax after the year-end exam.

Below are some photos taken at the parade by Nguyen Chi Anh Dai:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come to My Tho for tasting Hu Tieu

Hu Tieu (My Tho noodle soup) is a traditional dish, so specific to Southern Vietnam. As a Chinese long-aged dish, this food was reciped to taste My Tho delta people to become well-known nationwide.

Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City started serving this dish. Ever since then, its reputation has grown to become a very well known meal in Vietnam. It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing area of My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho City.

A bowl of Hu tieu

My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese noodle soup, Nam Vang soup, as well as Hue beef noodle soup. The intersting thing is its secret recipe. In stead of herbs and lettuce, you will be tried the flavour of soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce.

How does it taste?

The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid, and special condiments. Not less important is the broth to cook from shinbone, pork, squids, additives and seasonings to taste subject to family secret as revealed by Chef Ba Chau to a well-selling shop in Trung Trac Street, My Tho City.

Taken as a national dish and something to recollect the delta land of My Tho, this noodle soup reciped in the Southern cuisine is second to none in meeting with various appetites of both oriental and western diners.

Can you find a bowl of Hu Tieu in Ha Noi?
You are in Hanoi, and wondering if such a My Tho’s specialty appears in Hanoi or not. Of course, My Tho noodle soup comes up quite often in many streets of Hanoi. It is better to ask your hotel receptionist to recommend a place nearby or you can refer to the following reliable address: Arab Kebab, 9B Thai Van Lung Street, Ha Noi.

Tuong (Hat Boi)

Tuong, also called Hat Boi in the south, is a kind of drama of the national theatre. Tuong came into being over five hundred years ago, reflecting the rich and special culture of Vietnam.

The acting seen in this theatre is a dramatic art form in which the actors make use of their technical mastery to describe the actions and states of mind of the characters. This type of acting is different from other styles which require the actors to give up their individuality to transform themselves into the characters of the play.

Tuong stage has a very concise symbolization. Only with some actors on the stage, the whole scene of the court with all the officials who are attending royal ceremonies could be seen, or two generals with some soldiers fighting also show a battle with hundreds of thousands of troops and horses fighting fiercely, and even a gourd of wine and four wooden cups also express a lowish banquet. It is a mistake to deal with Tuong without mentioning the art of making up. It is because just looking at a made-up face; we may guess the personality and social class of that character. For example, a canthsus drawn toward one's ears show that he is a great gentleman and hero. As for beards, a black, curly beard is for a fierce man, three-tuft beard for a gentleman; a dragon's beard for Kings and mandarins and for majesty; a mouse's whisker, a goat's beard and a fox's whisker for cunning and dishonest men. Beardless man must be students. 

The gestures of characters on the stage are stylized with symbolization, which attract the viewers passionately. To a western-style drama, when a general rides a horse, it must be a real one or a horse-like costume; but, to an actor of Tuong, only a white, brown red or black whip also means many kinds of horses: black, sorrel or white. The actor of Tuong acts very concisely. Only with a whip, he is able to make the viewers passionate through delicate acting's with horses galloping or at full gallop, of which there are good-mannered or restive ones... With an oar, the actor of Tuong is able to show the viewers the boat fast sailing, wavering due to waves, making the viewers feel as through they were onthe boat.

The accompanying tomtoms in Tuong are very important, because they start the actor's sentiment; they bring the past time and space to the present; they unite the character's sentiment with the stage, and the actor with the audience. The art of Tuong in Vietnam includes those of painting, sculpture through the ways of making up, costumes and dance, pantomine, singing, saying through the actings of actors; as well as the combination of traditional musical instruments of Vietnam. The art of Tuong has raised the lofty view of desire to the true - the good - the beautiful (Chan - Thien - My) as well as the viewpoints of life of the ancients: Benevolence - Righteousness - Civility - Knowledge - Loyalty ( Nhan - Le - Nghia - Tri - Tin) through special characters who are benevolent and righteous. Tuong is one of the valuable pearls reflecting the rich and special culture of Vietnamese people.

Asean countries must do more to woo Japanese visitors

More than 50 representatives of national tourism organisations (NTO), including those from Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand participated in the event. They were advised to build tourism identities and revise strategies to better position themselves in tourists' mind in the long term, and all enthusiastically listened and unveiled plans to draw more tourists.

Asean tourism authorities and private sectors are yet to be more proactive, if they want to draw more international tourists, particularly affluent visitors from Japan.

Each year, more than 10 million Japanese travel abroad. In the first half of this year, despite the sluggish economic growth, 8.96 million Japanese made overseas trips, according to Japan Tourism Marketing Co.

Among Asean nations, Thailand is the most popular destination for Japanese tourists, followed by Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Still, the number of Japanese visitors to Thailand so far this year is far below 1 million, compared to 1.4 million going to the US and 1.3 million to France.

These were some of the facts shared at a recent five-day training on tourism in Thailand, hosted by Japan's Asean Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism (Asean-Japan Centre or AJC).

More than 50 representatives of national tourism organisations (NTO), including those from Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand participated in the event. They were advised to build tourism identities and revise strategies to better position themselves in tourists' mind in the long term, and all enthusiastically listened and unveiled plans to draw more tourists.

Khin Than Win, director for Tourism Promotion of Myanmar - the country that has opened its doors after five decades of isolation - said his government expects to complete its national tourism master plan this year or early next year. Under the master plan, infrastructure and hotel development will be key.

It is expected to have five more hotels with 1,450 rooms next year in addition to the existing 25,000 nationwide, of which 8,000 rooms are located in Yangon. More commercial complexes are also under construction, to facilitate the tourism industry.

From January-September this year, 724,000 visitors travelled to Myanmar, increasing by 24 per cent from 582,000 during the same period last year.

Sieng Ngak, tourism representative of Cambodia, urged Japan to develop a special Japan-Mekong route in order to boost Japanese arrivals to Cambodia and Laos.

Tran Quang Hao, deputy director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism's personnel department, said it is preparing to set up a tourism office in Japan, aiming to woo more Japanese visitors. Cambodia aims for 6 million to 6.5 million visitors this year, up from 6 million in 2011.

Early this year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Vietnam's National Administration of Tourism and Laos' National Tourism Administration organised travel fairs in Tokyo targeting repeat tourists.

The AJC wants Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos to immediately build their brand while Myanmar needs to add more hotel rooms and improve air-travel access.

Cambodia, in particular, is urged to promote the image of other big cities as well as the capital in key tourism markets. Japanese tourists feel more familiar with Bali than with Indonesia so they should be advised about attractive places in Jakarta and other islands.

Laos was selected by the New York Times in 2008 as one of 53 places to visit but it is still unpopular among international tourists.

Despite some improvement, Myanmar still needs more airline economy seats along with hotel rooms while Vietnam is welcoming a lot more Japanese but faces a lack of Japanese speaking guides.

The AJC urged all nations to differentiate tourism products before the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC). It also asked members to improve service quality and build their tourism image in order to cope with the growth of travel in the region in the long term.

For tourists from Japan, tourism operators also need special services.

Fuchigami Joukei, AJC assistant director, said that a large number of Japanese want to travel to CLMTV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam). However, there is lack of good sources of information about hotels, air service, restaurants, tour guides and contact persons in Japan.

Further, the Japanese find it difficult to select destinations for their next trips due to the lack of a tourism image.

"Expanding infrastructure and building a tourism image are very important as these are good methods to woo Japanese tourists," said Joukei.

He also urged each country to create and infuse their own character and focus on that strength.

The lack of Japanese-speaking guides is also apparent in Laos with only 18 guides compared to thousands in Thailand. The whole region is also urged to develop a budget airline network to link local cities in Japan and major cities in Asean.

Crisis communication management is also needed in every country and tourists should be able to use public phones free of charge when in crisis.

Air service frequency between Japan and Myanmar must be boosted immediately as currently there are only three flights a week with all business class while more flights can go to Vietnam from the current 60 a week. There are 125 flights per week from Japan to Thailand.

Importantly, only Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore have opened tourism offices in Japan. The AJC sees it as a must for all Asean countries to set up offices and appoint marketing teams in Japan, or at least have travel fairs in big cities, if they want to draw more Japanese visitors.

Riding elephant in Buon Don, Vietnam

Travel to Buon Don Village are memorable for an experience of a lifetime – riding on the back on an elephant.

Buon Don village is the only place in the country where it is legal to ride these great beasts in the beautiful Central Highlands. If tourists with Vietnam travel guide  fancy braving it from Saigon you take National Road No. 14 for 500km to Binh Phuoc and Daklak Province. Located about 50 kilometers northwest of Buon Ma Thuot City, is Buon Don which is home to the M’Nong, Ede, Lao and Thai ethnic minority groups and for the last two centuries has been the center of elephant hunting and taming in Vietnam.

Buon Don is the name for the three villages of Yang Lanh, Buon Don and Buon Tri in Krong Ana Commune, Buon Don District in Daklak. The elephant riding festival is annually held at the old airport area in the immense forest and it attracts thousands of tourists from over the country and beyond. The festival is amazing due to its number of fun performances such as elephants playing football and wading down the river.

Walking along the stilt houses under the shade of giant trees, tourists in Vietnam tours will be amazed to see elephants tramping on the street with locals or tourists on their back. Sitting on the elephants’ back and ambling with careful steps, tourists will feel life in the slow lane and more peaceful. You can ride elephants through the forests and rivers to explore splendid and wild scenery after getting some valuable advice from mahouts who take care of these amazing animals.

If you have time and feel adventurous, you can hire an elephant to cross the Serepok River. Then walk across the 100m-long Buon Don Bamboo Bridge under the shade of banyan trees. It is veiled by vines and roots but the swinging bridge is not for the feint-hearted.

To have more fun, tourists in Vietnam tours should buy some sugarcane or some other fruits to lure the elephants.